Steve Carroll Report - The Week Ahead

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim have three games at home this week, beginning Wednesday night versus the Dallas Stars. Following that match up, the Ducks will host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday evening, November 18th at 7:30pm. Then on Sunday afternoon, November 20th at 1:00pm, Anaheim plays host to the Vancouver Canucks.

One of the areas of the game that the Ducks will look to improve on is the offensive side. Anaheim. In their last four games, the Ducks have scored just five goals.

At practice Monday afternoon, Head Coach Randy Carlyle said that if you don’t shoot the puck, you can’t score.

“We’ve tried to shoot the puck more, but we have to get more traffic,” said Carlyle. “We have to find ways for those bounces to go your way. You continue to shoot pucks and take people to the net. The old adage is that the goaltender can’t stop what he can’t see. We have to get a lot dirtier in that critical area.”

“We have people and personnel that historically been able to do that,” added Carlyle. “I can’t say that they are not doing it now and specifically the last two games. That’s the frustrating part about it. There is pressure on the power play now to provide offense for us. When things don’t go well offensively, you always look to your man power advantage to take up that slack.”

In that area of the game, the Ducks are 1-27 over the last four games.

So, the Ducks are hoping to get back on track Wednesday night against Dallas in the second meeting between the two teams in four days. Dallas won the season series opener on Sunday, 3-1.

Going into the week of play, the Ducks are led in scoring by Teemu Selanne with nine goals and nine assists for eighteen points. Winger Joffrey Lupul is second on the team with thirteen points based on eight goals and five assists.

The Ducks will entertain the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night at the Pond. Anaheim lost a 4-3 decision to the Avalanche back on November 3rd in Denver. The Avs will have played in Phoenix on Wednesday night prior to their visit to Southern California.

When the Ducks and Avalanche got together the first time, Joffrey Lupul scored a shorthanded goal with 56 seconds remaining in regulation to pull the Ducks within one goal, but the Avalanche held on to win by one goal. Lupul also scored a power play goal, while Petr Sykora added an even strength tally for the Ducks.

Ilya Bryzgalov made the start in goal and stopped 28-of-32 shots. Anaheim went 1-3 on the power play and killed off all seven power plays against them that night in Colorado.

Vancouver makes their first of two appearances in Anaheim this season on Sunday afternoon. It will also be the first of four games between the two Western Conference rivals during the 2005-2006 regular season.

The Canucks have a contest in San Jose on Wednesday and in Los Angeles on Thursday night before they meet up with the Ducks this weekend.

Of the next eight games for the Mighty Ducks in the month of November, six will be played at home.